AMOS 1:13-15 VIOLATING THE HELPLESS

13 This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath . Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders, 14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah that will consume her fortresses amid war cries on the day of battle, amid violent winds on a stormy day. 15 Her king will go into exile, he and his officials together,” says the LORD.

Recently, Charles Manson was back in the news because it was time for his appearance before the parole board. Of course this happens in our prison system every day. What made it news worthy was heinous nature of Manson’s crimes. His gang would invade private homes and murder the helpless inhabitants, apparently for the sheer thrill of it. The infamy Manson bears today, however, is the result of their invasion of actress Sharon Tate’s mansion and her murder which included the cutting out of her unborn child.

Pregnant women are triply vulnerable. Not only can they as women be easily physically over powered by men, but they are in a further compromised condition by being pregnant and the child they carry is utterly defenseless. They become the perfect metaphor for Amos’ condemnation of Ammon’s sickening atrocities against the helpless. The anger of Edom is replaced by the hard-heartedness of Ammon as the means of satisfying a voracious greed.

In contrast, the child of God is to reveal God’s compassion by caring for the helpless of the world. Indeed such compassionate acts are the perfect revelation of our worship of God. It is written: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27). Notice that James tells us to look after orphans and widows, rather than telling us not to intentionally harm the helpless. “Looking after” precludes benign neglect. It has been pointed out that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Both love and hate focus on the other person as their object, while indifference ignores his very existence. When we close our eyes to the real needs of others we are doing violence to them in God’s eyes. As God came to us in our need through the Incarnation, we are to go out to the helpless in the name of God. God has given us our blessings and treasure in order to allow us the means to show his love for others and not so we can spend an inordinate amount on ourselves.

Lord, keep me ever mindful of the needs of others and ever vigilant in seeing the invisible helpless ones in my world. Give me a wise and discerning spirit so that the limited resources I have will go to the ones who are truly helpless. However, if I err, may it be on the side of generosity. Amen.